The Once and Future Sword
by Kamil the Awesome
Summary: When Jaina Solo finds herself in the final days of the Clone Wars, she finds herself having to deal with a Jedi not her own, uncertainty about why the Force has sent her to this time, and the fate of the entire galaxy once more upon her shoulders. Once more the Sword of the Jedi shall be challenged. Post "Invincible", technically a Revenge of the Sith fix-it.
1. i - shii-cho

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

STAR WARS

THE ONCE AND FUTURE SWORD

It is a time of rebuilding for the Galactic Alliance and the New Jedi Order. The Sith Lord DARTH CAEDUS, once Jacen Solo, is dead. His twin sister, JAINA SOLO, has secluded herself in the aftermath of the fateful duel with her brother. She is currently a guest of the IMPERIAL REMNANT, both to separate herself from the recent trauma of the Second Galactic Civil War and to aid her close friend, former lover, and the new Head of State, Jagged Fel.

Imperial sensors have detected a mysterious anomaly in Imperial Space responsible for interrupting communications and threatening hyperspace lanes, especially with Imperial allies in the Unknown Regions. With few options and little resources concerning anomalies such as the one detected, Head of State Fel has deployed Jaina to investigate. Armed with only her fighter, her abilities, and the Force, the SWORD OF THE JEDI hopes for a routine trip.

* * *

i. shii-cho

**Two months after the Death of Darth Caedus, 40 ABY  
****Seventeen standard hours from Bastion to Csilla  
Within the Imperial Remnant**

A StealthX dropped out of hyperspace, nearly invisible against the dark map of stars. Shaped panels of dark grey, matte black, and white blended against space as the sublight engines remained at half burn. The snub fighter moved away from its entry vector, banking left by solar south, and proceeded towards the large pool of white, dense enough to disturb space in the locality. There was little need for acceleration on her mission, though the pilot was worried this brief foray into unknown space could end poorly. Something about the light pressed at her, both inviting and repulsive. Before she could worry further about whatever disturbance was before her, the comm pinged. _Right on time._ With a tap, a communication line spanning the short jump she just made connected.

"Twin Suns Leader."

There was a short, breathy snort of remembrance from the other side. "I assume you've arrived?"

"I can see it." Jaina Solo paused. She reached out through the Force, then flinched back. Biting her lip, she said, "It's worse that you feared, Jag. I'm surprised Imperials were able to detect an anomaly like this. It's a wound in the Force."

"A wound?"

Jaina thought back to her training as a teenager on Yavin IV, searching for a way to describe what she had come upon. It was painful to reflect on those days before the war, training as Jedi. Nearly every memory she had of the forested moon was tarnished and haunted by the presence of her twin, her close brother, Jacen. Darth Caedus. The twin she had slain. And of those either dead or irrevocably changed:

Anakin Solo, their other brother, one of six dead on the Mission to Myrkr.

Tahiri Veila, twisted first by the Yuuzhan Vong and then Caedus.

Zekk, lost in battle as she boarded Caedus' Star Destroyer, the _Anakin Solo_.

Raynar Thul, transformed by the Killiks into someone…else.

It was bittersweet how those who survived those seemingly carefree days were still tied to the recent tragedy. Tenel Ka, whose daughter—Jaina's niece—was believed dead by almost the entire galaxy—including the Hapes Consortium which Tenel ruled—due to the plotting of Imperial Moffs and her own people. Even Lowbacca, their Wookie friend and companion for so long, had suffered, though less than when his father Chewbacca perished at Sernpidal. The _Anakin Solo_—Caedus' Star Destroyer—had fired upon his homeworld of Kashyyyk_._ Green turbolaser blasts fell from the sky and burned the ancient Wroshyr trees.

For it was there at Kashyyyk that Jacen had showed the entire galaxy how far he had fallen.

_He became Caedus when he killed Mara. Or perhaps even before, and I just didn't want to admit it until it was too late._

Jaina drew upon those first lessons on the nature of the Force as she began, "A wound is a place where the very fabric of life has been disturbed, like when the Death Star destroyed Alderaan, or the Destruction of Sernpidal early into the Vong War. While these wounds are often associated with places of great tragedy and death, they can emerge when necessary and have even been isolated to a single point. The Jedi before the Empire had records of an ancient Exile who was herself a wound in the Force. She carried such an anomaly within her for many years."

"She _was_ one?" Jag was flabbergasted. "How do you even close one? I'm concerned about its effects, for I suspect it's responsible for interference during my comms with the Ascendancy. Keeping a stable comlink between Bastion and Csilla has grown progressively more difficult in the past few days, and I do not want to see what it may do to ships traveling via hyperspace. The proximity to Bastion alone—"

"Could threaten the Remnant." She sighed. "I understand, Jag. I don't exactly know how to close it, but I believe the Force will guide me. I doubt even Uncle Luke knows an exact method. And you should be thankful the Chiss are speaking to you," Jaina added. She hesitated, fully aware it was her fault he had first fallen out of favor with them. "I assume you've heard from your family?"

"They'll be visiting in a few standard months, or so Wyn told me. A diplomatic mission, just like the one where the _Millennium Falcon_ spent a few nights in my private hangar."

Jaina faintly smiled at the familiar sensations she could feel from Jag. Even this far away, he felt like a blazing spot in the Force. _Perhaps it's the comm, or the fact we've reconciled from what happened between us after the Vong War and during the Killik Crisis. I don't know if we'll ever return to how we were when I had thought to marry him, but as Master Yoda told Uncle Luke, 'Always in motion is the future'._ She was eternally grateful it had been he who had found her with her brother's body, tired in ways beyond just physical fatigue. While her parents were busy helping 'Amelia' Solo get situated on Coruscant, Jag had invited her to join him in the Imperial Remnant for as much time as she needed. It was nice to be in a place where it was difficult to be reminded of her brother and of the monster he had become—all under the guise of keeping the Moffs in line. That was the story Jag gave the new GA Chief of State, Natasi Daala, when she'd tried to protest Jaina traveling across galactic borders.

Jaina also secretly hoped to find a way to aid Boba Fett and Mirta Gev to return to their home of Mandalore. She had yet to determine which of the Moffs were responsible for the nanovirus.

"Will I still be around when they arrive?" she asked. "Or am I to be shipped back off to Coruscant like a good little Jedi?"

"Finish out there and make it back to Bastion," Jag said, kidding on the square as he only did with her, "and I might introduce you to my mother. She'll enjoy stories about Uncle Wedge and may even tell you some from her holo days."

"And I'll get some of him from his youth to tell the retired Rogues. They'll love it." She paused and found herself smiling fondly. "I should be back in a couple days, Jag. May the Force be with you."

"And with you. Be safe, goddess."

The comm clicked off before Jaina could respond to Jag's last word. It had been over a decade since he had called her that. It brought back fond memories of Borleias, after she had inadvertently tricked the Yuuzhan Vong into believing she was their trickster goddess, Yun-Harla, taken mortal form. She had been granted command of Twin Suns Squadron by her uncle and then assigned Master Kyp Durron to be her personal porter. She smiled, letting the memories from then flash through her mind—especially those of her and Jag. Their kiss, flying together at Borleias, and his little trick to ensure they were still in love when he returned from the Hydian Way.

_Focus, Jaya,_ she could hear him say—Jacen, not Jag. She shook away the memory and centered herself in the moment. It was dangerous for a Jedi like herself to be too distracted.

With a light touch, the StealthX accelerated towards the wound. It made her hair stand on end and, as usual, she was grateful for the helmet and flight suit she wore. It was odd being back in the black and gold trim of the GA, but she hadn't wanted to take New Republic orange and white with her to the Remnant. Also, the only time she had worn an Imp flight suit was with Jag—and it hadn't been on her for long in those cases.

As she prepared to circle the light signifying the wound, her StealthX shook and began to drift, as if a haphazard tractor beam caught her. _Or a gravity well_, she though as the light expanded, and she was drawn into the wound.

Jaina blinked away the glare in her eyes. _Did I pass through it?_ She wondered as her starfighter stopped shaking. Laser fire passed by, much closer than she had seen in years. More blasts of red and blue zoomed past her, and for the briefest moment, she wondered if she had returned to the Vong War or some other conflict in which she had flown. Confused and reaching out into the Force, she felt a gathering of military strength unlike any since the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar. She spun her StealthX and looked up through the transparisteel canopy of her fighter, held in place by the crash webbing. For a moment, she could've sworn she was back there, fighting the final battle of the Vong War. Then she felt only two vaguely familiar presences—_Jedi presences_—make their way across the battle below. Suddenly, she recognized the various ships fighting below her. Ships defined by one great, terrible conflict.

_Fierfek. The wound sent me into the past. I'm fighting in the kriffing Clone Wars._

**16:5:20 GrS (19 BBY)  
****Above Coruscant  
****Core**

Two Eta-2 _Actis_-class interceptors carved their way across the tumultuous, chaotic naval battlefield hovering over the capital world of the Republic. They zipped past various _Venator_-class Star Destroyers of the Open Circle Fleet in the midst of engaging the various capital ships used by the Confederate Navy. One Venator, with a SPHA-T loaded into its lower hangar, fired a striking beam of bright, searing blue. They dipped over the resulting fireball from the Separatist ship nailed by the attack. It wasn't enough to destroy the vessel, but it was crippled enough that neither Jedi piloting the interceptors expected it to return to the battle.

As they moved away from the explosion, they broke into open space and spotted an all-too-familiar sight and their target: the slippery and evasive Providence-class dreadnought, the _Invisible Hand_.

The astromech droid of the yellow interceptor whistled, its blue and grey head turning to face the cockpit.

"Lock onto him, Artoo. Master, General Grievous' ship is right ahead of us," said Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight. "The one crawling with vulture droids."

"Oh, I see it. Well, this is going to be easy," snarked Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master.

The vulture droids on the _Invisible Hand_ noticed their approach and disengaged. A few wings of droid tri-fighters moved from elsewhere in the battle to join the impending wave of enemy fighters.

"Oddball, do you copy?" Kenobi asked into his comm.

The clone pilot in question was quick to answer. "Copy, Red Leader."

"Mark my position and form up on me."

Several ARC-170 starfighters descended from above, moving into position as ordered.

"We're on your tail, General Kenobi. Setting S-foils into attack formation."

"Let them pass between us, Anakin," Obi-Wan said preemptively. "We let the clones do their job so we can do ours."

"Understood, master," Anakin grumbled. He then added in an overly cheerful voice, "This is where the fun begins."

"Should leave flying to droids," Obi-Wan muttered.

Before the blue and grey vulture droids and tri-fighters could descend upon them and blast away in a hope to vape them, a rogue starfighter cut through their line, quad lasers blazing hot as it fired upon the Separatists. Several droid fighters were destroyed in the pass while more broke off, their programming reacting to the sudden attack and being drawn away from the Jedi threat immediately before them.

"Who was that?" Obi-Wan questioned, forcing himself to focus on weaving through the enemy, both intact and shattered.

"I don't know," Anakin responded, grinning, "but I'm going to find out." He opened a broad Republic comm frequency and said, "Unidentified snub fighter, this is General Skywalker. Identify yourself."

Several tense seconds passed without a response. To his surprise, Anakin received a connection via, to his surprise, an encrypted Jedi frequency. There was a brief hesitation; then a woman responded. "This is, uh, Rogue One, General Skywalker. Please use, ah…_Jedi techniques_ for further communications." The comm clicked off.

"You hear that, master?"

"I did," Obi-Wan confirmed. "We should assume our mystery friend is trained, though I wonder by whom. Only the most talented and powerful of Jedi use the Force to communicate mentally—unless they have a bond."

"True. Though we have been fortunate the Separatists haven't been able to crack our comm encryptions." Anakin then jerked his fighter as missiles launched by a vulture droid nearly struck home. Artoo rudely blared at the near miss. "Yes, yes, Artoo. I'll be safer next time. At least we haven't seen any buzz droids yet."

Anakin smirked at the loud sigh from Obi-Wan. "Please don't say things like that, Anakin. You know what hap—"

Before he could finish, there was a poof of metal before them—_vulture droid missile_, Anakin frowned—and a couple dozen large balls drifted so they would be in place for when the interceptors flew past them. With hissing pops, the nasty interior of several buzz droids appeared on their starfighters, their three red eyes gleaming, appeared on the starfighters.

"Look what you did, Anakin!"

"Master, this is not my fault," he protested. Anakin then turned to Artoo and added, "Middle eye, Artoo. Zap 'em hard."

Artoo twirled and quickly zapped off the three buzz droids moving in to carve him apart. Anakin grinned and glanced left. That side of his fighter was fortunately clear of the lethal pests.

"They're all over me," Obi-Wan reported, morose. "Leave me, Anakin. Get to the Chancellor."

'_I got you, General Kenobi. Focus on your mission.'_

Anakin stiffened at the psychic voice. He glanced back and saw not the clone 170s behind them, but the mysterious fighter that had cut through the wave of Separatist fighters. It was mostly deep grey and black, though there was spots of white that appeared to mimic a star field scattered across the long nose and up the main chassis. He mentally worked through the various starfighters he knew and determined it was likely an Incom/Subpro Z-95 Headhunter, though one so heavily modified it could be its own fighter—especially with the S-foils and quad laser set up.

'_Good to see you, Rogue One,'_ Anakin said through the Force. _'What are you flying?'_

'_We can talk shop after the battle, Skywalker. Now let me concentrate on your master.'_

With that, the presence of the Force touching his mind slid away. There were then five blasts from the mystery fighter, each and every one a clear shot removing buzz droids while leaving Obi-Wan's red fighter unmarred, then a final message. _'You're clear of buzz droids, General Kenobi. Good luck with the Count.'_

And with that, the fighter pulled away, seemingly vanishing against the few patches of stars poking through the bright flashes of lasers, fighters, and capital ships.

"You know, Anakin," Obi-Wan began, "there's something about her that reminds me of you. And it's not her flying."

"Yeah," Anakin said as they drew closer to General Grievous' ship. "I was feeling something like that too."

* * *

Jaina wanted to squeal like a silly Coruscanti schoolgirl from the bad holovids she'd watched as a girl. She had just flown with her grandfather, _the_ Anakin Skywalker, and with _the_ Obi-Wan Kenobi. The same man who had begun her uncle's training as a Jedi, and in doing so had led him to rebuild the fallen order and bring justice back to the galaxy. That thought soured her mood, thinking of what would soon happen. She carved through a rather sparse section of the battle, where several droid fighters were turning around to regroup. The Sword of the Jedi was upon them before their processers even knew they were being fired upon.

_At least the Vong were a challenge_, she thought, coming about. Jaina guided her StealthX to follow several ARC-170s as they cut closely along the lower hull of a _Munificent_-class star frigate. She fired a shadow bomb—the propulsion-less proton bombs widely used by the Jedi during the Vong War—and curved it up into the frigate as she passed around before firing her quad lasers upon the bridge at close range. The shields quickly fell, melting transparisteel and durasteel and exposing the bridge to open space. Several droids spilled out, flailing at the sudden loss of gravity. Point defense guns fired as she flew away, but the Force alerted her to their firing patterns and guided her safely towards a new target: one of the looming _Lucrehulk_-class battleships.

"As Grandfather said," Jaina murmured as her approach came to an end, "_This is where the fun begins_."

She quickly checked her remaining shadow bomb total—two remaining in each launcher—and began her attack. Jaina curved her StealthX around the towers and dishes serving as sensor and communication arrays until she reached the great ridge on the neck connecting the ball center to the circular body. She opened fire with her lasers, blasting away at the shields until she felt the shatterpoint in them through the Force. She fired off two bombs with a minor delay between launches, reaching through the Force to guide them towards their destinations. The first nailed the shatterpoint in the shields and brought them down in a bright flash. The second reached its target—the ridge—and exploded through the durasteel, shattering the generator within. Jaina came about and fired once more until the ridge was slagged into nothing but molten durasteel and spluttering power relays.

As she pulled her StealthX away from the _Lucrehulk_, one of the _Venators_ fired down upon the central section several times until it was vaped, leaving the remaining circular body to fall into the orbit of Coruscant.

Jaina glanced back and smirked in that way she knew was fully Solo. Large clone fighters were sweeping in to blast the leftovers apart, chipping away with bright blue bolts.

And then she froze, feeling a death in the Force. Jaina knew little about the man known as Count Dooku, but one was the fact his death was part of many events that had led her grandfather towards the dark side—

Towards becoming Darth Vader.


	2. ii - makashi

**A/N: A huge thank you to my beta reader for this story, MsFicwriter. To edboy4926 and .L, I hope you continue to enjoy the story.**

* * *

ii. makashi

**Aboard the **_**Invisible Hand  
**_**Above Coruscant**

Anakin looked away from the blinking red and green panel, doing his best to hold back his frustration. Too many battles in the past three years had ended like this one was shaping up. "All of the escape pods have been launched," he informed Obi-Wan.

"Grievous," Obi-Wan said, in sad, annoyed reluctance. Artoo beeped and blared as he joined the two Jedi, along with Chancellor Palpatine, at the front of the bridge of the _Invisible Hand_. Sections of the transparisteel viewport were covered by durasteel plating thanks to the escape of General Grievous. Anakin knew there was no time to focus on the fact that the war, once more, would continue for who knows how long. The vessel they were before had been caught in the gravity well of Coruscant and it would take his considerable luck to reach the ground intact.

"Can you fly a cruiser like this?" asked Obi-Wan as they sat down in the forward pilot seats. He shifted uncomfortably, for the seats were designed for B1 droids, not humans.

"Do you mean 'do I know how to land what's left of this thing'?"

"Well?"

Anakin began pressing buttons. "Well under the circumstances, I'd say that my ability to pilot is irrelevant. Strap yourselves in."

They were all quick to do so, connecting the limited crash webbing of the bridge to their seats. "Open all hatches. Extend all flaps and drag fins. This will be rough."

Obi-Wan vaguely nodded from Anakin's left. Artoo beeped and whistled a semi-reassuring pattern. There was a loud groaning as the ship shifted. A long moment passed and then a great weight was released as the burning glare of atmospheric entry seared the view port before them. It was all Obi-Wan and Anakin could do to keep their eyes open.

"We lost something," Anakin supplied.

Obi-Wan huffed and added, "I hope you can fly half a ship. We won't get medals if the Chancellor arrives in similar shape."

The Chancellor made an awkward squeaking sound at the jape.

He looked over, grinning. "That was worst than that time you mocked Windu, master. Of cours—" Anakin paused, feeling an unnatural deceleration seize upon the section of the cruiser they occupied. He stood and looked out of the viewport. Far to their left and flying in tandem was the small fighter of Rogue One. Narrowing his eyes, he drew upon the Force until he could get a vague look at the pilot. Her arms were outstretched, hands lowered as if cradling a baby.

_Or a broken cruiser falling towards the ground._

"What is it?" asked the Chancellor, looking around. "I noticed we decelerated."

Anakin sat and turned to a curious Obi-Wan. "It appears your savior is more powerful than we thought. She's helping to slow our descent."

"Is she now," said Obi-Wan, glancing over. "Oh, we just entered the atmosphere."

Anakin nodded, guiding the cruiser section as it fell towards the surface of Coruscant. Flames still built up around the ship as they carved through the atmosphere, even with the benefit of Rogue One slowing them with the Force.

The fragmented cruiser streaked across the skies of Coruscant, burning and breaking apart as the stresses of the fall exerted upon the durasteel frame and paneling became too much for the bruised, battered ship of a hundred battles. Even as fire ships came about to help put out the flames, Rogue One in her mysterious fighter followed them, drawing upon the Force in order to control their descent.

After a minute of falling and nearly twice as long grinding along the duracrete ground, the cruiser—the front half of the infamous _Invisible Hand_—came to a rest upon the long starting field of the Coruscanti pod-racer and swoop bike racing course. "Another happy landing," remarked Obi-Wan, running a hand through his auburn hair. Anakin shook his head at his master's antics and looked out towards the Coruscanti skyline as the mystery starfighter broke away, its four engines blazing bright orange, and headed towards where he knew the Jedi Temple lay.

**Medical Ward  
****The Jedi Temple  
****Galactic City, Coruscant**

Jaina scowled at the clone troopers that led her from the hangar of the Jedi Temple towards some unstated location. She also scowled at the manacles slapped upon her wrists the moment she got out of her StealthX. No thank you for helping to fight the Separatists. She wished they were Jedi, concerned and confused by her presence, dragging her before the Council so she could be lectured to for ten minutes as if she were an apprentice still before she'd storm out, itching to fly or fight. Instead, they were walking into a med bay. The Jedi healer glanced at her and told the troopers, "Take her to an Emdee droid. She seems fine to me, though…"

They guided her to a bed, as the healer shook their head at whatever thought they briefly had, and departed once a droid came up and took a quick blood sample. Thanks to the Force, she felt nothing as it drew enough to do whatever tests happened in the time before the New Republic's founding. As she waited, Jaina became certain a different healer kept glancing at her with a confused frown. She looked around, bored, tired, and itching to inspect her StealthX after flying in a kriffing Clone Wars battle. The chamber was white, reminiscent of Clighal's infirmary in the Jedi Temple of her own time, though there were more Jedi healers than she'd ever seen in a single place. She tried to imagine the Calamari healer in the environment around her, yet it didn't seem right.

_Perhaps it's best to leave the past in the past and the future in the future._ She sighed and wondered, _if so, then why am I here? Unless…_

Sudden movement. Jaina turned towards it, instincts drawing upon her battle experience. She watched as a few Jedi in robes and armor strode into the ward and spoke with the Jedi healer who had seen her upon being brought in by clone troopers. They spoke in low tones and with odd glances in her direction.

"Is there a problem?" Jaina asked. She had raised her voice as to startle them. They flinched at the sound of her voice, and after another round of whispers, sent one of their fellows over.

Jaina watched him closely during his approach. _He means to not appear like a threat._ "There were some issues brought up by your blood test results. We were wondering how someone with a midi-chlorian count like yours was never brought to the Temple for training."

"Midi-whats now?" Jaina asked, frowning. "Have I done something wrong?"

The Jedi scowled, though there was a hint of confusion mixed into the furrow of his thick brows. "Midi-chlorians are microscopic organisms responsible for Force-sensitivity. It's how we pick future candidates to become Jedi. Your count is higher than most in the Order."

Jaina's scowl deepen, trying to think if her Uncle Luke had ever suggested there were things like these 'midi-chlorians.' "Sounds fake, but sure, they totally exist. Why does it matter my count is so karkin' high?"

Before the Jedi could continue his tedious tirade, a clone trooper entered the ward and handed her lightsaber to another one of the strangely dressed Jedi. "Found this in her fighter, sir. Thought you should see it." He ignited it. Jaina watched his face and felt herself worried that the violet hum of her lightsaber bothered him before deactivating it.

"Thank you," he said, dismissing the soldier. He walked over, going to the opposite side of Jaina's bed. "Care to explain this?"

"A trophy," she said, shrugging. More and more, Jaina was feeling hesitant about telling these men the truth. It wasn't like they were the Council, after all. "As I asked, why does it matter?"

The Jedi glanced at his fellow and instead muttered, "This might just explain why the genome scan claimed Skywalker as one of her closest biological family members. It doesn't explain the connections to that MIA Corellian freighter nor to Senator Amidala."

Jaina knew exactly how all four individuals (or groups) factored into her genetic pattern. She leaned back onto the bed with only a single word dominating her thoughts.

_Fierfek._


	3. iii - soresu

**A/N: It's been a great surprise just how much support this story has already garnered. Thank you to edboy4926, fanskap, and ILDV for your wonderfully supportive reviews. To .L, I hope you love Jaina meeting her grandparents (you should definitely enjoy the next chapter then), and to The Dark Porg, just as the Jedi Order recognizes seven forms of lightsaber combat, I shall only have seven chapters.**

**I generally don't do this, but I am making a fic recommendation: **_**Rebel**_** by The Dark Porg. It's a brilliant one-shot that examines the Empire and how it dehumanizes people though a very blue-collar lens.**

* * *

iii. soresu

**Inside the Jedi Temple  
****Galactic City, Coruscant**

Jaina found the traditional tan and brown Jedi robes comforting as she drew them on. She had finally been on the verge of being released from the medical ward when two masters arrived, seeking her out. She was thankful they were not the two Jedi that had interrogated her—_and kept my lightsaber, the nerf herders_. They said little other than to give her the set of robes and informed her that she was required to come before the High Council so they could discuss her medical file. Withholding a groan or a snarky comment, Jaina took them with a nod, then bothered the Emdee droid until it released her with a surprisingly exacerbated noise. A young boy, likely not even nine yet, led her to a small chamber where she could change from the flight suit she had still be wearing and into the robes.

_I should get holo images while I'm here,_ she thought, pulling on the brown outer cloak. _Uncle Luke would love to see what the Temple looked like before the Empire. Maybe the next time we're forced to rebuild, we could restore to what it once looked like._

Little beyond the walls and foundation had remained of the Jedi Temple when the New Republic had seized Coruscant in the years before Jaina's birth. Her uncle had taken great efforts to rebuild it, especially after the Vong War. And while she missed the great crystalline pyramid, the marble and sandstone structure she had so far seen was warm with the light side of the Force, so unlike the Temple of her time. _I have never felt a nexus like this,_ she thought, stepping out of the small chamber. The young boy was still waiting, twisting a small braid of his hair around a finger.

"Lead on," Jaina said. "I doubt the Council likes waiting."

The boy nodded, mumbling, and started away. She followed at a sedated pace, keeping the boy within sight. He would pause and speak with his fellows or bow to various knights and masters. Some would speak to him, and then they'd both look at her. She just smiled and continued following, not feeling the sense of urgency she had implied. After passing through several corridors, including a rather fancy walkway overlooking a larger area below, they reached a turbolift up to the High Council chambers.

"How long have you been with the Order?" Jaina asked the boy.

The boy turned to her, surprised, and said, "Since I was two." He then frowned. "Why?"

"Passing curiosity," Jaina said. "Most Jedi come to the Temple at that age?"

"Most are closer to three than I was," the boy admitted. "But Master Skywalker was nine! I heard it was con-tro-ver-sial when he became a Jedi."

_He was only nine? Jacen and I were twelve when Uncle Luke started our proper training on Yavin, but then Mother passed along a trick here and there as we grew up._

"Is nine abnormal?"

The boy opened his mouth to respond, but it was an older voice that answered Jaina. "The Council is generally strict about only taking children who are five or younger." She turned and found herself having to look up at a tall man who, if it was whom she suspected, was nearly the same age as her. His brown wavy hair brushed against his shoulders, and there was a scar over his left eye. Unlike every Jedi she'd seen, his robes were comprised of dark browns and black. It was a fitting mix, though unsettling. "I was a special case," he added with a smile that reminded her too much of Jacen.

"Master Skywalker!" the youngling said, excited. "I was just telling the Master Jedi about you."

Anakin smiled at the boy. "Hello to you, Sors, though I'm not a master just yet. Should you not be in a lesson?"

He beamed at being called by name. "Master Fisto asked me to lead the Master Jedi to the Council Chambers." Sors shrugged, adding, "Better than a nap."

"When you get to be my age, you miss naps. And Master Jedi?" Anakin questioned, looking at Jaina. "You look a little young to be a Master."

"And you're tall for a starfighter pilot," Jaina shot back.

Anakin laughed. "I like you." He turned back to Sors and said, "I'll see her up to the Council. I have something I need to speak with them about, so it benefits me to help you."

"Are you sure?" the boy asked, fidgety.

"I'll be fine," Jaina said, waving off the boy's concern. She then smirked mischievously. "Worse comes to worse, we can blame everything on Ani here."

She paused, realizing her slip. She hadn't used that nickname since before Myrkr. Before she lost her first brother.

He frowned at her, crossing his arms. "I'll let it pass this time, but do know nobody calls me Ani. Not since…" Her grandfather looked away, frowning. There was a sadness to him she could feel, but Jaina also sensed a suffusion of joy through his whole being. She knew its source.

_Mother and Uncle Luke_, she realized. _I should tell them that Grandfather also disliked the nickname. That's something I can state he and my Anakin had that in common. I know she named Anakin to forgive her father, but knowing exactly who he was before he became Vader should bring them joy._

The turbolift doors opened with perfect timing. She thanked Sors and then entered, Anakin right behind her. "Council chambers," he said, coming to stand beside her. Once the lift began to rise, he added, "That was some nice piloting up there, _Rogue One_. I still want to know what you were flying. Looked like a modified Z-95 to me, though I've never seen a headhunter maneuver as smoothly as you did."

Jaina turned to Anakin with a smirk. "Something like that." She couldn't exactly tell him her StealthX was based upon a starfighter that had yet to be designed, let alone produced. _I should be thankful that he assumed it was one of those old Headhunters. Wedge always did say the best decision Incom made after the Clone Wars was to update that old Zerek design._

"I was also wondered when you were trained in the Force. You must be quite powerful to be capable of guiding half a cruiser to the ground. I've never seen you around the Temple."

"And you've been fighting through a great deal of the Clone Wars," Jaina said. She thought back to the old stories and battle reports she had been able to dig up. There were few Jedi who had seen as many battles as Anakin Skywalker. "It would make sense that you might not recognize a face—or several."

He snorted. "I saw how you flew, if only briefly. You're not only a Jedi, but I would guess Corellian."

"Half-Corellian," Jaina corrected. "My mother wa-uh, is from Alderaan."

Anakin glanced at her, but didn't question her correction. "So I'm right?"

"In a way," Jaina answered, avoiding a straight answer. There was a niggling thought in the back of her head about why the Force had dragged her through time to this moment. Even so, she didn't trust letting her grandfather learn of their relation. _Not yet, anyways. Palpatine still has too much influence over him. Did the wound bring me here to stop his fall?_

"You know the Council are going to question you about it."

Jaina frowned, sneaking a glance out of the side of her eye. The way her grandfather had spoken implied he would soon have the power to draw the truth from her. "They can ask, but that doesn't mean I have to answer as they'd like."

Once more Anakin surprised her, for he laughed. "Trust me. When you're before the Council, it's nearly impossible to hide the truth. Powerful Jedi can sniff out a lie with ease."

Jaina had no idea how to respond, which was fortunate since the turbolift slowed and the door soon opened. She stormed out and towards the only other door on the floor. Taking a quick moment to center herself, Jaina stepped forward as the door slid open and found herself before the High Council.

"Masters," she said, standing in the chamber's center. The door slid open again and Anakin entered. She shifted left and let him stand by her side.

"Masters," he repeated.

"Speak with Knight Skywalker first we will," Master Yoda said, nodding to him. Jaina gave a small bow and took a polite step back.

"Masters," Anakin said once more, letting his eyes scan those before him. "I have come from speaking with Chancellor Palpatine. He has, in the name of improving relations between the Jedi and the Republic, appointed me to become a member of the Jedi Council. He also wishes specifically for me to represent him, and in turn the Senate, on the Council. I understand that the Council appoints its own members, but if I have learned anything from this war, there is a need for the Jedi and the Senate to work together more effectively to ensure peace and serve the people of the Republic. When Chancellor Palpatine steps down from office upon the end of the war, I shall do the same with the Council, unless his successor in office wishes for me to persist in the appointment."

Master Yoda frowned, thoughtful. Jaina struggled to hold back her alarm at the words her grandfather had spoken. _Will they really allow a Sith Lord to influence the Masters' Council?_

"Allow this appointment lightly, the Council does not. Disturbing is this move by Chancellor Palpatine. Gathering power for many years he has been, though point about relations with Republic, Skywalker, you have."

Anakin faintly nodded. "I understand and will stand by the Council's judgment."

The dark skinned master spoke next. "You are on this Council, but we do not grant you the rank of Master."

"What?"

Jaina could feel the simmering anger, frustration, and resentment from her grandfather. She couldn't blame him for his reaction, for she knew with her own Corellian temper, she'd protest, too.

Anakin continued. "How can you do this? It is outrageous! It is unfair! How can you be on the Council and not be a Master?"

"Take a seat, young Skywalker," the dark skinned master stated. He gestured towards a seat somewhere behind Jaina.

A long, tense moment settled in the chambers until Anakin said, "Forgive me, Master Windu." With that, he walked over to the empty seat and sat down.

The holocom projection of a Cerean Jedi Master spoke up. "We have surveyed all systems in the Republic, but have found no sign of General Grievous."

"Utapau," Jaina quickly supplied, stepping into the chamber's center. "You will find him on Utapau." She resisted the temptation to glance at Master Kenobi, credited with finishing off the droid general in the few pre-Empire holos.

Yoda focused his wise, green eyes upon her. "Curious, your presence in the Force is." He nodded to himself, eyes closed for a long yet brief moment, before adding, "From…the future, you are. Most curious how you came to our time, this Council now is."

Jaina sighed, relieved _that_ she didn't have to struggle with explaining her presence while skirting around the fact she was a Selkath out of time. "My Uncle's stories of you, Master Yoda, never suggested you would be the type to cut straight to the power cables. But you are correct about me being from a different era—roughly sixty standard years into the future. I am Jedi Knight Jaina Solo."

"To know I still train Jedi, good to hear," Yoda said, smiling.

"I am most curious about one thing," began Master Kenobi, stroking his beard. "How is it that you came to be here, of all times and in all places?"

"I, uh, flew through a wound in the Force." Jaina flinched and added, "Accidentally, not on purpose. My, uh…_kriff_, I don't know how to describe that relationship to you." She huffed, drawing as much inward so as to hide everything about Jag from the masters. They wouldn't appreciate the fact they had nearly gotten married, let alone their renewed relations. "A _close_ friend asked me to investigate a strange anomaly: a Force wound, as I've said. I passed through it and found myself in this time above the battle."

"I am more concerned about the fact that you are strong enough in the Force to guide the cruiser to the ground," began the dark skinned master, frowning, "Yet I struggle to sense your presence, even though you stand before us. It…wavers and fluctuates."

Jaina grimaced as he gestured towards her. She had drawn back her Force presence less to hide her relation to Anakin Skywalker from the Jedi and more to hide from Palpatine. After what had happened to Jacen, she was worried by what would happen if the future Emperor detected a grandchild of Skywalker. Years may have passed since then, but she had walked close to the dark side and had nearly fallen. Yet she couldn't continue to hide, so she revealed herself in the Force, letting the Masters reach out and feel her strength.

She replied with, "I can hide myself from the Force, though I wasn't the first in my family to learn it. A useful skill, even if I am not using it to its potential."

"Your family?" asked another master Jaina didn't know. She struggled to place their species. "Does this explain your connection to Skywalker?"

"I won't answer any questions about any possible relation between my family and, uh, Knight Skywalker," she said, defensive. _I need to protect the future first. _"Even so, I am a Jedi, as were my brothers. My mother and my uncle are Jedi, and so was his wife. His son and my niece, they will be Jedi—and so was my grandfather."

"And will you tell us his name?"

Jaina turned to the dark skinned master. She was struggling for a name, though she thought Windu might be correct. _I should ask Fett when I return to the future. He's bound to know things about the Jedi of this time that even Uncle Luke doesn't know_. "I do not feel comfortable revealing his identity at this time. There is a…conversation I need to have before I do so." She paused, hesitating, and stuttered out a shaky breath. "Dark times approach should nothing change the future. The Sith Lord you seek will have a new apprentice: Darth Vader. His…his first victim was my grandfather."

She didn't dare finish the sentence in her head. With so many masters around her, Jaina was uncertain how safe her thoughts truly were, especially since they could feel her in the Force. This was the Jedi Order at its prime, in the days before the end of the Clone Wars. They could've stopped her brother before he became Caedus, before she was forced to do so.

"A sense of duty I feel from you," Yoda said, a disturbed and saddened frown crossing his face. "A deep sadness, pain…"

"I was named the Sword of the Jedi when I was knighted," Jaina said, knowing what was being felt from her. "I…I did my duty as the Sword two months ago and protected the Order from a potent, malevolent threat."

"A Sith Lord?" asked Master Windu.

"Yes. Darth Caedus." Jaina tensed, hands into fists, and admitted, "He was my twin brother before he fell, although I am now certain he started down the path towards the dark side years before. There was a long, terrible war when we were younger. Too young to fight, though it became…necessary. He spent part of it in the hands of the enemy, tortured and subjected to the ravings of a fallen Jedi."

"How bad was it?" asked Master Kenobi in a soft voice.

"Five terrible, bloody years—worse than the Clone Wars by every measure imaginable. My other brother, who was younger than us, died partway through. I nearly fell to the dark side following his death." Jaina grimaced, trying to keep the worst of her memories from the Vong War away. "Over…over three hundred trillion died, by the end. Two battles were fought in the skies of Coruscant. Once, when we lost the planet, and the second time to end the war. The enemy thought our ways…heretical and were _mostly_ immune to the effects of the Force."

"Immune to the Force?" Anakin said, horrified. "How did you win?"

"We adapted, learned about their biotech and their tactics. We found a way to turn the tide and defeated their leader. But that is many years into the future."

"Given us much to think on, you have," said Yoda, glancing about the chamber. "Give you leave to speak with whom you must, the Council will. Reconvene with you soon, we shall. Discuss the war, we must now do. Dismissed you are."

Jaina smiled and nodded. "I understand, Master Yoda. May the Force be with you." She bowed to the Council and departed, sighing as the door sealed behind her.

_I can only hope it's easy to set up an appointment with a senator these days…_


	4. iv - ataru

**A/N: Thanks to my wonderful reviewers, AppleRecords1968, .L, Mako-clb, and The Dark Porg. Nearly all of you gave me something to think about and I really hope you enjoy this chapter.**

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iv. ataru

**16:5:21 GrS  
****500 Republica, Senatorial Residence  
****The Honorable Senior Senator of Naboo,  
****Padmé Amidala Naberrie (Skywalker)  
****Galactic City, Coruscant**

Jaina stepped out of the speeder taxi and onto the balcony platform of 500 Republica. "Charge the Jedi Temple and don't bother waiting," she said, waving off the protesting Rodian driver. She drew the brown Jedi robe closer to her body, fighting the cold winds of Coruscanti traffic, before falling into a walk that combined the swagger of her father and the unstoppable presence of her mother. With a few long strides, she reached the large clari-crystalline door and froze. The person who had come to greet her wasn't her grandmother, the mysterious Padmé Amidala of Naboo, nor was it Threepio as she half expected. Instead, the tall, tanned form of Bail Organa stood there before her, dressed in fine blue and silver Alderaanian robes. The man who, had he survived the Rebellion, could have been part of her young life as her grandfather.

"Hello, Master Jedi," he said once the door slid open. "What can we do for you?"

"Senator Organa, a pleasant surprise. I am here to speak with Senator Amidala."

Bail raised an eyebrow. "For what purpose?"

"Guidance," Jaina said, before taking a risk. _This is what I get, arriving too late to schedule a blasted appointment. Three weeks, even for a Jedi?_ "I have heard she's provided good advice to Knight Skywalker over the years."

Jaina heard shuffling and spotted movement from behind Bail Organa. "Let her in, Bail. We can speak later."

"I would like him to stay, if only for a moment," Jaina blurted. _So this is what Uncle Luke means by the will of the Force, _she realized. _I've never felt it so keenly._

Bail nodded and guided Jaina inside. Before her was her grandmother, heavily pregnant with her mother and uncle. Jaina had oft wondered where her mother's beauty, and in turn her own, had come from. It was clear that as their Force-sensitivity came from Anakin Skywalker, their fair looks were a product of Padmé's strong genetic heritage.

_Does she feel as if she could be looking into a mirror as I do?_

"It is unusual for me to receive Jedi guests other than Ani-akin, Ahsoka, and Master Kenobi here, but do come in." Padmé glanced at Bail and added, "Is there a reason you wish Bail to remain?"

_Who the kriff is Ahsoka?_

"I wish to speak with both of you," Jaina said, rubbing thumbs against forefingers. "Though…I am more here so I can speak with you, Senator Amidala. I, uh, I should introduce myself. My name is Jaina Solo. This may be difficult to believe, but I'm a Jedi Knight from the future." She shot that dashing Corellian smirk she inherited from her father and added, "It's nice to meet you, Grandmother."

Padmé gasped and then took two long, waddling strides forward. She placed her hands on Jaina's cheeks and smiled through glistening tears. "You have my eyes, though you take more after my cousin than me with the rest of your features," she whispered. "And…and you have Ani's strength in the Force. I…I can _feel_ it…"

Jaina rested a hand on her grandmother's belly. _So that was why Grandfather was so uncomfortable with me calling him Ani. It is the name his wife uses with him._ "You'll be having twins soon, both of whom will have their father's strength in the Force. One of them is my mother." She glanced at Bail and added, "He, uh, raised her. She is a great diplomat, a loving mother, and a fine Jedi. When necessary, that is."

Bail smiled, a tad uncertain. "Not that I wouldn't mind, but why did I raise her?"

Jaina sighed. "The Sith Lord responsible for the Clone Wars, at least in the history I know, destroyed the Jedi and named himself Emperor. Imagine what he could do with the Force-sensitive children of a beloved politician known to consort with Jedi?"

That chilled Padmé. "They went into hiding, didn't they," she whispered sadly. "What of their father and me?"

"You…you did not live long enough to see them grow up, let alone become major figures in galactic history." Jaina grimaced. "I do not wish to tell you what became of my grandfather except, by a certain point of view, he fulfilled the destiny the Jedi foresaw for him. At least for a time."

"More Sith?" Padmé asked, frowning. Jaina nodded.

"I…" The two women turned to Bail Organa, who was looking pensive. "I should leave. Thank you for letting me know I will have a positive influence upon the future, Knight Solo. Padmé, I shall bring your concerns to Mon Mothma. We have discussed when we will bring our proposal before the Chancellor tomorrow."

"Of course, Bail. I will see you then."

He nodded and then departed for the turbolift.

Jaina frowned, looking between the direction her adoptive grandfather had gone and the grandmother before her. She had a small feeling why it felt more difficult to tell her about Jacen than with the Council. _They are Jedi of the Old Republic, trained to distance themselves from attachments._

"So," Padmé begun, guiding Jaina over towards the fine blue couches. "There is something troubling you. You are much like Ani when he is troubled, all brooding and uncertain."

"You shouldn't trust Palpatine." Jaina slunk into the couch, lips pursed. The words had sprung from her mouth before she could think how to ease her grandmother into the revelations.

_I do typically make others cut straight to the power cords._

Padmé only frowned. "Why not? He has been a good mentor to both myself and Ani."

_That was what I feared._

"Have you wondered why the Separatist movement didn't sprout until he became Chancellor? Did you ever try and find out where the order and the funds for the Clone Army emerged? Have you considered that he won't abandon power once the war is over?"

Padmé sighed. "The Separatists had been building for a long time before the war began, and it was a Jedi Master who placed the order for the Grand Army of the Republic with the Kaminoians." She paused, and Jaina looked over. There was a look of consternation upon her grandmother's face. "Bail and I, we're part of a group of senators who plan to go before the Chancellor and convince him to abandon his emergency powers the instant General Grievous—the final hope for a Separatist victory—is dead."

"He won't give up power," Jaina said, her confidence building. "It isn't in his nature."

"_In his nature_? What secret do you know?" asked Padmé, concerned and distressed.

"You know how the Jedi Council is convinced about a Sith Lord being responsible for this war?" Her grandmother nodded. "That Sith Lord and the Chancellor are the same man."

Jaina could feel horror bloom within her grandmother. "No…no it…it can't be true! I helped to make him Chancellor…"

"And the Sith were involved with that crisis, weren't they?" questioned Jaina.

Padmé was quiet. _Quiet for too long_, thought Jaina, and then she released a sad, defeated sigh. "It hurts to believe it, but I fear you are telling me the truth. I have confessed concerns with many that I am worried he won't step down once the fighting is finally over. He had mere days left in office when the war began."

"I am telling you the truth, Grandmother. And if what I suspect is true, he'll use whatever Grandfather fears most to twist him, to make him his apprentice, and destroy everything you two hold dear."

"My death," Padmé whispered, a scared realization coming to light. "Ani has been dreaming of me dying in childbirth, though he's tried to keep me in the dark about it. I fear they're just like the ones he had before the Clone Wars, when he foresaw his mother's death."

"And she died in his arms, didn't she?" Jaina asked, gut twisting.

Padmé nodded.

"And…I would imagine Palpatine has been tempting Grandfather with whatever power would be needed to prevent your death—and then claiming that it can only be achieved through the dark side.

"Too much is at stake to let him fall as he did in…in the history I know." Jaina paused to gather her thoughts. "I need to know something: do you think Grandfather will be fine if I tell the Jedi Council of our relation? They must already suspect the truth."

"We have kept our marriage secret for years," Padmé said. "I have always been worried about how our life could change if we had Force-sensitive children. I want to raise them here, or on Naboo if we must. I'm worried about what the Council will do to Anakin if they discover he's their father…"

"And you fear they would take them from you," Jaina finished. "In my time, we no longer do so. My twin and I didn't officially start our training until we were twelve. Uncle was nineteen when Obi-Wan taught him his first lesson about the Force, and my mother didn't bother with Jedi training beyond informal lessons with her brother until she was married."

"Really?" Padmé's face lit with the happiness Jaina had found only family could spark. "I want to hear about them. Your twin, how are they?"

Jaina knew her face fell solely from the sorrow she could feel from her grandmother. "He…he fell to the Dark Side and became Darth Caedus—to…to save his wife and child, in a horrific repeat of what happened with you and Grandfather. I…I stopped him."

Arms wrapped around her and Jaina held back a sad giggle at how familiar being hugged by her grandmother felt when compared to those rare moments as a child when she was hugged by her own mother. She closed her eyes and took in the warmth of the connection. The anguish of her brother's death passed, as if their duels on Nickel One and the _Anakin Solo_ had never happened.

"I wish you never had to stop your own twin. Please, help Ani. I couldn't live, seeing the same tragedy that happened to your brother happen to my husband."

"No matter what?" Jaina asked, turning so their warm brown eyes could meet.

"No matter what," Padmé confirmed, using the same tone Jaina's mother used when she expressed her love. She nodded and finally returned her Grandmother's reassuring hug.


	5. v - djem so (shien)

**A/N: Would've had this chapter out earlier, but I've been flying cross-country all day. Thanks to edboy4926, .L, The Dark Porg, and Mako-clb for the reviews.**

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v. djem so/shien

**16:5:22 GrS  
****Jedi Temple  
****High Council Chambers  
****Galactic City, Coruscant**

"Welcome back," said Master Windu, watching Jaina closely as she swept into the chamber's center. She chewed at the inside of her cheek, holding back the sort of comment she'd make if he were Kyp or even Kyle Katarn sitting before her. From what she had learned of the master, he wasn't one for sarcasm or jokes. "We should apologize for the delay in this meeting, but with the ongoing conflict, the Council is not always able to convene daily. I believe you will be willing to answer all of our questions truthfully and in full today."

"I will do so," Jaina admitted. "The conversation I needed to have didn't occur until yesterday, so having the extra time was beneficial. It helped me realize I can't let myself be controlled by my fears." She glanced at Anakin and added, "And since you wish for me to be truthful and hold nothing back, you must know that _everything_ is at stake."

"Such as?" Master Windu asked with furrowed brows.

"The near destruction of the Jedi Order," Jaina stated. "Younglings slaughtered, the Temple burned and destroyed, and the Sith Lord responsible for the war declares himself Emperor. The world of Alderaan will be annihilated, with only an asteroid field to mark where it once gleamed." She remained impassive as the masters of the Council flinched with horrified looks, most sitting up as their expressions settled into concerned frowns. "Of you twelve, only Masters Kenobi and Yoda survive the Purge long enough to train new Jedi."

She could feel the Council's shock at her pronouncement. The holocom of Yoda frowned at those words. "And of the Sith Lord? Destroy the Jedi Order, how does he do so?"

Jaina sighed. "The Sith Lord you have been seeking is here on Coruscant and has been for many, many years. Pulling strings, moving pawns. He has even manipulated and influenced one of your own. He's got a Jedi right under his thumb."

"Who is it?" asked Anakin, impatient. "The Sith Lord we have been searching for?"

"You know him as Chancellor Palpatine," Jaina answered. She struggled to ignore the betrayal, the _horror_, she felt rolling off of her grandfather. "And if nothing is done, his goal will come to pass. If I remember my history right, it will be tonight."

"Tonight?" asked Mace Windu, leaning forward. "How do you know this?"

"Records from the Empire made clear that the, uh, _Jedi coup_ occurred tonight—at least, I'm positive it's tonight—into tomorrow, though I doubt it occurred the way the Empire described," Jaina answered. "That and well, my family is tied to many events that have occurred in what is my past."

"Ah, your grandfather," realized Yoda, nodding. "A Jedi, you say he is. Tell us his name, you finally will?"

Jaina looked down as the torment of her past came back. "My youngest brother was named for him, for my mother finally forgave him his, uh, crimes and…errors. My uncle, raised by what remained of his father's family, was told by their shared master he was 'the best starfighter pilot in the galaxy, a cunning warrior, and a good friend'." She looked back up, steeling herself as the Sword of the Jedi and declared, "As many of you already suspect, my grandfather is Anakin Skywalker."

"By the Force…you really are my granddaughter?" asked Anakin. Jaina turned and nearly found herself swallowing her tongue. Staring at the shocked, hopeful face of her grandfather brought back memories of when she was young and innocent, in the times where she had two younger brothers.

_Mother was right to name Anakin as she did, and not only for forgiveness' sake._

"I am," she said, nodding. "In my time, it is uncommon, but accepted for Jedi to have families. After all, the Grand Master had a wife, who was also a Jedi. It was her death that led to me facing my brother after his fall to the dark side."

Master Windu frowned. "Families are not the Jedi way. It has been thousands of years since a Jedi had a family. _'We are to know neither anger, nor hate, nor passion.'_ Yet you say your uncle had a wife, and is the Grand Master"

"Yes, well," Jaina began, struggling to determine what she could reveal. _Blast it. In for a chip, in for hand_. She sighed and said, "My uncle, Luke Skywalker, is the Grand Master because he reestablished the Order, and that included changing past doctrine."

"My son…is the Grand Master?" asked Anakin. She turned to her grandfather and nearly beamed at the pride in his eyes. And then she felt a hint of uncertainty from him, the fear he held of his wife dying, and Jaina knew that the future of Darth Vader had yet to be put to rest.

"He is. And he is the reason you were able to finally overcome the Sith Lord responsible for a tremendous amount of suffering."

Anakin Skywalker suddenly stood. "I…I need to go. Excuse me." Her grandfather quickly departed the Council chamber, robes flowing as he went. Jaina chewed at her lower lip, a pulse of concern and fear flooding her. She had her suspicion where he was going and she hoped that when they next spoke to each other, he was not the apprentice of the Dark Lord of the Sith.

"Worried for your grandfather you are," acknowledged Yoda. "Another painful secret."

Jaina felt as if her voice was only a small whisper. "When I said that Darth Vader's first victim was Anakin Skywalker, I didn't mean in the literal sense."

"Anakin fell to the dark side?" asked Master Kenobi, horrified. "But you said he defeated the Sith Lord—that he defeated Palpatine."

Jaina nodded with a hint of hesitation. "He was redeemed in his final moments. His last act was to destroy his Sith master and to tell his son, my uncle, that he was right to believe there was still good in him. I…" She smiled, drawing upon what was once just a fond memory. "I was told by my uncle that when confronting Palpatine, right before Grandfather was redeemed, that he said, 'I am a Jedi, like my _father_ before me.' There is still hope." She turned to face the door Anakin had passed through. "Though I cannot help but worry that he might still fall."

Master Windu scowled, glancing towards the door or in the direction of the Senate. "You think he went to confront Palpatine, to confirm your claim that he is the Sith Lord we have been searching for?"

"Something like that."


	6. vi - niiman

**A/N: Thanks to edboy4926, Mako-clb, and Judy. Laura .L for leaving reviews.**

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vi. niiman

**Jedi Temple  
****Hangar Bay Three  
****Galactic City, Coruscant**

Jaina crossed the hangar, thankful to be back in her black and gold piping flight suit. It distinctively separated herself from the Jedi of the Republic, and it reminded her just how different the Order of her time was to this Order, still so connected to those first Jedi who gathered on Tython.

Her StealthX waited for her inspection, a borrowed astromech comfortably docked for when she would eventually depart. A couple Jedi trained mechanics were giving it a final look, though she wouldn't even slip into the cockpit without triple checking their work. From what little she had gathered, the Jedi of this era cared little for ship maintenance. Those of hers were little better, though they were so few compared to this time it was easier to notice with so many more. She wondered if it was a symptom of the disconnect she noticed in the few interactions between the Jedi and those they were sworn to serve and protect she had witnessed. Learning just how strict their rules about attachments were made her thankful her uncle had been wise enough to see the folly in the practice, or at the very least, the potential harm it could cause.

'_Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.'_ Those words of Master Yoda, passed along to her and many other Jedi by Master Luke Skywalker, haunted Jaina's thoughts briefly. She tried to reach out into the Force and find her grandfather, but he felt uncertain and disconnected, as if every fiber of his being was being pulled apart at the seams. It was so unlike Jacen during his descent into the dark side that she couldn't help but fear that her aborted fall during the Vong War was more akin to the fall of their grandfather than her twin's transformation into Darth Caedus.

She sighed, remembering just how well she understood those words once spoken by Master Yoda and of how those emotions could lead to the dark side. Her trial in those weeks after Anakin's death was a grim reminder of how something so instinctive and natural could destroy good and talented Jedi.

_I only need to look at what happened to Jacen when he did nothing to let us know of his worries about Allana and his concerns regarding the state of the galaxy as Corellia and others fought to selfishly disengage from the GA. If we had been more aware when he used the GAG to go after perceived foes and began working with Niathal, maybe we could've stopped him._

"Master Windu," called out her grandfather. Jaina turned, StealthX forgotten, and watched as he approached the master. He glanced towards her, and she knew there was hope to stop his fall. Not all was lost to the dark side and its tempting sway.

_There can be a future where there was never a Darth Vader or an Emperor Palpatine. Where there was never a Death Star to destroy Alderaan and an Empire to ruin a thousand worlds._

Jaina hesitated as quickly as the thought had come. She could change the future with a single choice. And yet she wondered how stopping that tragedy could affect everything else that defined her life.

_Would my parents have met? Would Jacen and I have been born? Would Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara have ever met and married? What of Ben and Anakin and Allana? Could that Vader-less, Empire-less galaxy defeat the Yuuzhan Vong? What of my friends, my Uncle Chewbacca, the other Jedi I know? Would Jacen have ever fallen to the dark side without Lumiya to guide him, and without Vergere to corrupt him? Would I have ever met Jag or Zekk or even Kyp?_

"Knight Solo?" She turned to face a Nautolan she didn't know. "I'm Master Kit Fisto. Master Windu has requested you join us."

"What for?" she asked, frowning. She had a sense that Master Windu didn't like her very much, or perhaps only thought her a distraction or a danger to the Order of his era.

"To arrest the Chancellor, of course. Knight Skywalker confirmed your statement about him being the Sith Lord we've been searching for."

Jaina almost scoffed. Palpatine was not a man to be arrested, but one who should be killed. Not out of fear or anger, but for peace. So that worlds like Naboo and Kashyyyk could have peaceful futures. So Alderaan could remain a shining beacon of peace and democracy in the galaxy, instead of a reminder of a tyrant's reach.

As much as she worried and feared she could irrevocably destroy the life and people she had known, Jaina Solo knew there was only one answer she could give.

"I am the Sword of the Jedi, and it appears I was called by the Force to do my duty in this time. If that means I have to settle for arresting a Sith Lord, then so be it."

As she joined the other masters in a shuttle, Jaina glanced back at her conflicted grandfather. At a terrified Anakin, who could only think of his wife and her uncertain fate.

_Fear not,_ she thought, bolstering herself. _Grandma Padmé shall live to raise Uncle Luke and Mother. She will see them become Jedi, just like her husband and their father. This is my duty—my destiny—as the Sword of the Jedi. To defeat those threats which would end us, be they past, present, or future._


	7. vii - juyo (vapaad)

**A/N: Thanks once more to you wonderful reviewers—Mako-clb, edboy4926, .L, and The Dark Prog. **

**I'm absolutely grateful to every reader for joining me on this journey—and for joining me now for this final chapter.**

* * *

vii. juyo/vapaad

**Inside the Senate  
****Galactic City, Coruscant**

Jaina followed Master Mace Windu and three of his fellow Jedi Masters as they neared the Chancellor's Office. She was troubled, yet amused to discover that the corridors of the great, mushroom shaped Senate building had changed little in the decades between the days of the past Republic and the Galactic Alliance of her present. She noticed a master step into pace beside Master Windu and whisper to him. The bald Jedi glanced back at her before responding loudly enough for her to hear: "She has called herself the Sword of the Jedi before the Council. Let's hope we don't have need for her claimed skill."

_At least he is honest about why I am here,_ Jaina thought. _I am not wanted on this mission, but Master Windu has reason to believe I am needed._ There were a dozen things she wanted to tell him—about herself, about her duels with her brother, about the other Sith she knew of which included the one before them. _If only they knew how dangerous Palpatine truly is. He is nothing like Jacen. I should have told them about the clones, the possessions, every frightening trick of the dark side he used to flee death._

And before she could find the words and the right moment to tell them the full extent of what she knew about Darth Sidious, they were turning into the Office of the Chancellor. It was comprised of red carpets and old art, likely stolen from Republic worlds by long dead Sith Lords. The five Jedi stepped into the office proper as Palpatine turned to face them. Jaina followed Master Fisto and thus found herself directly on Master Windu's left. An odd sight, she imagined, since she was in a flight suit.

"Master Windu," Palpatine said. His eyes flickered to Jaina for the briefest of moments. They were dismissive of her, only concerned by the Jedi immediately before him. "I take it that General Grievous has been destroyed, then. I must say that you are here sooner than I expected."

Mace Windu unclipped and ignited his lightsaber. "In the name of the Galactic Senate"—Jaina followed in turn along with the other three Jedi—"you are under arrest." They illuminated their side of the office in humming shades of green and blue and deadly violet.

He blinked, but remained impassive. "Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?"

"The Senate shall decide your fate."

Palpatine snarled with a dark timbre. "I _am_ the Senate."

"Not. Yet." Mace's words sounded more defiant than explicit.

Jaina stiffened as Palpatine rose. Her grip tightened and she was thankful to be wearing gloves, for her hands were suddenly clammy. He summoned a lightsaber into his hand, smooth and almost crystalline. "It's treason then." It ignited with a jarring snap-hiss, the crimson blade of a Sith Lord promising death. And then with an inhuman battle roar, he leapt over his desk in a spinning attack. Unlike the other Jedi who all drew back into defensive stances, Jaina stepped forward. He stabbed out of his landing, and she just parried his blade, creating an opening for the two masters who had lined up on the other side of Master Windu. She could only hope they used it to stop the threat before them.

To her sickened disgust, Palpatine was faster. He came around and slew them with a single slash, weaving around their comparably clumsy attacks. And thus it was three Jedi against one Sith. Palpatine, growling and twirling his weapon in ferocious patterns, was able to step into the guard of Master Fisto and put his lightsaber through the Nautolan. Jaina struck out with a kick and nailed the Sith Lord in the hip, sending him backwards in an awkward stumble. His crimson saber rose and blocked Mace Windu's voracious assault.

_They're both using Form VII, though different variants,_ she realized, stepping back to observe the two fierce fighters, unwilling to give even a millimeter. Jaina frowned as Mace Windu guided his duel with Palpatine into the greeting hall beyond the office, but found herself hopeful.

_He's increasing the amount of space in which to fight. Palpatine took advantage of how close the others were to kill them quickly. It seems he has prepared to fight in that office—and perhaps in there alone._

Her violet lightsaber humming, she followed after the two, and as Windu dodged a wild slash from the Sith, she moved forward with a single handed jab. Palpatine reacted faster than she thought the older man could, leaping back from her jab while bringing his lightsaber up to block Windu's powerful overhead blow. Jaina followed up on her jab with three tight swings, drawing upon her training with Boba Fett. She caught the Sith Lord with another kick, and Palpatine had to let his stumble turn into a fall in order to avoid Windu's flurry of blows.

The Sith Lord rolled back onto his feet and brought his lightsaber in close, snarling at them. While Mace brought his weapon up in a low, taunting stance, Jaina drew into the basic stance of Djem So, the Form she had joked with Jacen as kids as being, 'the Skywalker style.'

"So who will strike first," sneered Palpatine, drawing upon his rhetorical skill—and, perhaps, the dark side. "Will it be Master Windu, who so clearly seeks to strike me down? Will it be you…Jaina Solo? Ah, you are Anakin's granddaughter. Such power, such focus, such…_potential_." His eyes then turned away towards the entrance, and Jaina felt a familiar presence. It was the last one she wished to sense in the moment. "Or will it be you, dear boy? I thought saving Padmé was important to you. The Jedi cannot—"

"Shut it!" Jaina shouted. They all turned towards her, shocked by her outburst. "You offer nothing but death. That's all a Sith can ever promise." She shifted her stance, drawing upon the certainty that allowed her to overcome Caedus, keeping her gaze fixed upon the Sith Lord before her. She could feel the Living Force in the moment, and even a trace of the Unifying Force too. If she turned away from the Force, she was dead. "I will stop you, even if it costs me my life."

Palpatine grinned. It was a horrible, nasty expression that promised to ensure every word she said came true. Jaina shuffled back as he lunged, and then spun left. Her violet saber came about in the spin, deflecting the Sith's strike at her back as she came around. She brought it down to slice across his body. As he maneuvered back towards his office, she stepped into his guard and sliced down the side of his right leg.

The Sith Lord howled from the blow and stumbled away. A hand came up, and with the instinct and reflexes only experience could breed, Jaina caught a fierce lash of Force lighting upon her lightsaber blade. The blue-indigo bolts screamed against the saber blade. It held for several seconds, and then broke away with a gasping hiss.

Palpatine backpedaled with a limp into the main office. She pressed the attack, forcing him to defend against several wild strikes, including one that sliced his saber in twain, until he all he could do was duck and collapse to the ground. Her final wild blow shattered the window of the office. She brought the blade down to his throat, forcing him to crawl back into a corner.

Chest heaving as she regained her breath, Jaina declared, "You lose, as Sith always do."

"No, noo," he denied, sneering and snarling like a cornered kath hound. "You lose, Jedi!" Once more, Palpatine sent Force lightning at Jaina, and once more she used her blade to block it. This time, however, it was redirected upon him, scarring his face in a manner that she had long thought caused purely by the dark side's influence.

Once he stopped, Palpatine looked over and begged. "Anakin, look how I have been deformed. The Jedi…they are trying to kill me!"

"I am preventing your tyranny," Jaina said, lightsaber held forward once more.

"He must stand trial," Anakin said, his lightsaber activating. "I _need_ him."

"Yes," whispered Palpatine, as if he could taste victory. "Only I can help you save Padmé, to save your wife."

"Do not listen to him, Skywalker," Windu warned. "He lies to trick you."

"Can you trust them, Anakin?" asked Palpatine. "Can you trust the Jedi who would tear you and Padmé apart? The Jedi who would exile you? Who would steal your children from you?"

Jaina looked away from Palpatine, and her brown eyes locked upon her grandfather's blue eyes. They were the same eyes she saw in the face of her uncle, yet these were clouded by temptation. The same temptation her uncle faced after the death of his wife and the revelation about her twin. She could hear his voice, her own echoing him, in the prophecy delivered upon her knighting.

_I was the Sword of the Jedi with Jacen. I am the Sword of the Jedi with Palpatine._ _I am tempered steel, purposeful and razor-keen._

"It is your fear, Grandfather. It is your anger, your hate, which kills Grandmother—and your hunger for power. She dies not because of childbirth, as your visions have led you to believe, but because her life is so directly tied to yours that she could only die when Anakin Skywalker dies—physically or spiritually." Jaina turned to face Palpatine and saw a panic and worry she never thought the man capable of feeling. "I am called upon to defend the Jedi Order and stop its greatest threats. And you, in this time and place, are that threat, _my lord_."

_Always I will be the front rank, a burning brand to my enemies and a brilliant fire to my friends. My life will be restless and I will never know peace, though I am blessed by the peace I bring others._

"Then…" her grandfather began, searching for words. She glanced at him and saw that his eyes were wet with tears. Through the Force, she felt the moment he swallowed his fear, realized the folly of seeking to bend destiny to his will, and found the peace he had been struggling to find. _He has realized love is greater than fear_. "Then…then do it, Jaina. My granddaughter."

_I take comfort in the fact that though I stand tall and alone, others take shelter in the shadow I cast._

_I am the Sword of the Jedi, and so falls my blade onto our enemies._

Faster than a mynock on power cables, Jaina struck with her lightsaber. Once more, her violet blade struck down a Sith Lord, and once more it pierced their heart. There was no lack of pain as with Caedus, but relief. Relief that it was over and that the most terrible Sith to live was no more.

And so passed Sheev Palpatine, Chancellor of the Republic and the Sith Lord called Darth Sidious, who had plunged the galaxy into war for his own ambition, greed, and for a plot of vengeance a thousand years old.

**Two months after the Death of Darth Caedus, 40 ABY  
****Seventeen standard hours from Bastion to Csilla  
****Within the Imperial Remnant**

Jagged Fel stared out the transparisteel view port of the _Gilad Pellaeon_, his brand new flagship named for the Head of State who had come before him. Days had passed since the wound in the Force, as Jaina had described it, disappeared. Even worse, she had disappeared with it, and against the advice of several Moffs, he had come out to the location to find any trace of her.

"You are acting like a human," remarked Ashik. Jag glanced at his Chiss aide, nearly as new as the ship, and snorted.

"I _am_ human. I haven't lived among the Chiss for years." He sighed, closing his eyes. "I finally reconciled with Jaina. I don't want to lose her again."

"And perhaps you haven't," the Chiss said as several members of the bridge crew stood from their stations. Jag opened his eyes and grinned as a crack of white appeared, expelled a StealthX, and then finally sealed. The fighter leveled out and veered towards the Star Destroyer. "It appears she has returned, and is likely unharmed."

"It does," Jag said, turning away from the view port. He found a comm officer and ordered, "Have her dock in my personal hangar. Unless Daala does something outrageously stupid or the _Millennium Falcon_ somehow finds itself within Imperial space, I do not want us interrupted."

"Sir," Ashik began before Jag could depart the bridge. "If I am remembering my human innuendos correctly, aren't you the one who's supposed to dock in her private hangar?"

Jag nodded as he stepped off of the bridge. He then turned left, followed the corridor several meters, and entered his personal chambers, connected to his private hangar. Once finally away from the crew and his aide, Jag allowed himself to laugh at the Chiss' unlikely joke. As he regained his composure, the distant door to the hangar opened. Jaina stood there, helmet off, eyes wide, and a look of uncertainty Jag swore he had seen upon her face only during the Vong War.

"Jag," she whispered, as if it expressed everything there was between them.

There was something about her standing there, hair slightly disheveled and that look in her eyes that drew him in. He strode forward. "Next time you disappear, take me with you, goddess." Jag drew Jaina into an embrace and smiled as she melted into the contact.

"Next time I accidentally travel through time or across dimensions, I'll take you along. I could've used your support, even if things turned out fine without you." She pushed back enough to look into his eyes. "I'm just happy you're still here. You'd never believe where I was or what I did. I…I wonder what'll become of wherever I was drawn to…"

**51:3:27 GrS  
****The Jedi Temple  
****Galactic City, Coruscant  
****35 years after the Clone Wars**

Ben Solo sighed, opening his eyes. Unlike his Uncle Luke or Master Kenobi, for whom he was technically named, meditation did nothing to clear his mind and calm his emotions. Instead, it only let the annoying whispers that haunted his dreams continue plaguing him. He considered asking his mother for help, but she never visited the Temple. She had last been inside the ancient palace of the Jedi some time after her knighting at age nineteen, when she left the Order on a proverbial part time basis, or so Uncle Luke called it. Ben was convinced that his mom was only allowed to retain her lightsaber or avoid renouncing her title as a Jedi Knight of the Republic because Grandpa Ani was an important member of the High Council.

"Ben," whined a familiar voice. "You aren't meditating."

He looked over and smirked. "Nor are you, Jaya." His little sister, named for their grandmother on their father's side, huffed, arms crossed as she looked away.

"Only because you aren't." There was a small pout on her face. Ben laughed.

"You don't like meditation any more than I do, little sister. Why don't you head off and play with your friend? I know you like that trio of buns she puts her hair into."

Jaina sighed, bored and annoyed. "Kira is at her saber training module right now." She then slumped against Ben. He resisted the temptation to push her off. "I wish we were in the same crèche. I hear Snip's grand-niece, Master Dume's youngest, and the kid everyone calls Finn 'cause of his weird name or whatever are with hers and it's _so_ much better than mine."

"Do I need to speak with that Zabrak again?" Ben asked, frowning. He vaguely knew the boy's name, but it escaped him at present. Rumor had it his father had been a Sith, back when they existed.

"No," Jaina admitted. "If I'm gonna be the Sword of the Jedi, then I should be able to fight my own fights."

He sighed. Ben had been surprised when he came upon an old file for a SOLO, JAINA that wasn't his sister. While he had resisted the itch to read it, it was when his sister found it that he finally relented. They had read it together and were surprised by what they learned. While it hurt to have the image of their grandfather shattered, learning he hadn't been the one to stop the Last Sith, Jaina had become fixated upon becoming the Sword of the Jedi, just like that other Jaina Solo. "If she can do it, then so can I!" Jaina declared then and there with a toothy grin.

_It doesn't hurt that they could be the same person,_ Ben reflected. _That Jaina Solo was said to have come from the future, and rumor has it she was also the Granddaughter of Anakin Skywalker._

"Do I spot two children not meditating?"

They turned, grinning. "Dad!" Ben shouted, leaping to his feet. Jaina was fast behind him, and they crashed into their father as he dropped to a knee. Han Solo drew them into a tight hug, rumbling their hair. The story of how their mother had come to know and then fall in love with him was a long one, and Ben still hadn't heard the full, uncensored version. All he knew for certain was that it involved the Kessel Run, Prince Isolder of the Hapes Consortium, and holovid star Lando Calrirssian, which made the story rich fodder for speculation and fantasy.

"How long are you back for?" asked Jaina, snuggling into their father's chest.

"For good, I hope. Luke finally convinced the Council to hire me as a starfighter pilot instructor. Your, uh, lessons in the _Falcon_ are useful and all, but it's nothing like those interceptors you Jedi fly." He whistled and Ben glanced up to see a smile on their father's face. "Only good thing Kuat produces."

"If you had your way, we'd all fly Corellian ships," said Uncle Luke, walking up to join them. Like Ben, he was dressed in the traditional light colored robes of the Order. Jaina, on the other hand, took after their grandfather and preferred the darker browns that at time edged on black. "Ben, Jaina. Shouldn't you two be meditating?"

"But Uncle Luke!" protested Jaina. Ben sniggered at her whine. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"She's her mother's daughter, all right," their father grumbled in good humor, standing.

"Leia was much more stubborn at that age," Luke replied with a fond smile. He turned to Han. "I heard she's part of the Senate now."

Ben flared his nostrils and pursed his lips. The few times he met active senators had been at lame, boring parties he was forced to go to as a descendant of Anakin Skywalker. And while Gran Padmé had been a senator, she had left the Senate by the time Ben had been born. There had even been a few rare times when he had gone to visit her in the Lake Country of Naboo, where she had married then Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker. In exchange for gossip from Coruscant, she would tell him stories of his grandfather, including a few from the Clone Wars when they had been together, facing the Separatists. The one time he asked about the Sword of the Jedi, she would only smile in that weird melancholic way only old people did, which made it really weird since she was as beautiful as mother was, those rare times he got to see her.

"Yeah, that's true," their father said. "With all of those Outer Rim worlds joining the Republic, she thought it was the right thing to continue helping them adjust."

"Is that why Mom was gone for so long?" asked Jaina, pouting. Ben nodded. While he had come to accept that their mother preferred to remain away from the Temple due to whatever reason led to her first departure, too often he wished for her to be there. To listen as they talked about their lessons and be proud of how Ben and Jaina progressed as Jedi.

"In part," Uncle Luke said with a sad frown. "But there's another matter that has her worried. She has seen…visions of a dark presence in the Unknown Regions. By strengthening the Republic's presence in the Outer Rim and along the Western Reaches, she hopes to sniff out this dark threat."

"I think I know what it is," Ben muttered, looking down at his feet. "I have these weird…dreams, I guess. Visions, sort of like what Grandfather had. It's like someone is whispering to me, and I hear the voice when I meditate."

"Don't worry, Ben," Jaina said, latching onto him. "I'll become the Sword of the Jedi and stop it!"

Ben smiled down at his little sister and felt a sense of relief. If a different Jaina Solo could stop a Sith Lord, then perhaps his own could stop whatever threat wished to prey upon him.


End file.
